1 Timothy background

1 Timothy

Author: Paul
See Ecclesiastical History by Eusebius; Book 3, Chapter 25, Verse 2.
(May have been written down by a Scribe.)

Date: 62-64 A.D. (1)

Language: Greek

Purpose: To instruct Timothy, a young minister in Ephesus.

What kind of book?: Letter with "pastoral" instruction.

Reflection: In this letter, Paul states, "I do not permit a woman to teach..."(I Timothy 2:12 NIV). The key word is "I." For a culture that discriminated against women, Paul is giving a specific personal command, not a permanent command from God.
Jesus calls women to be ministers according to their calling just like men, or he would have had Martha and Mary at work in the kitchen. A number of Christians think women cannot be "ordained" as ministers due to specific statements by Paul in Epistles for women to refrain from doing anything in church.  However, if those church leaders were to follow the letter of what Paul states, then women could not even teach Sunday school. Paul gives a number of personal commands and context specific demands, and to distinguish them from moral commands, the context of the passage must be carefully, examined, very carefully.
Hunter Irvine
(1) Craig S. Keener, The IVP Bible Background Commentary, New Testament (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 1993), 607.